The Department of Homeland Security reported Tuesday that federal immigration enforcement officers have faced more than 180 vehicle attacks since President Donald Trump took office.
DHS said Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers experienced a combined 182 vehicular attacks between Jan. 21, 2025, and Jan. 24.
During that period, ICE officers reported 68 vehicle attacks, up from two during the same time frame as the previous year, representing a 3,300% increase.
CBP officers reported 114 vehicle attacks during the same period, compared with 51 the year before, a 124% increase.
"Sanctuary politicians with their rhetoric comparing ICE to the Nazi Gestapo, slave patrols, and the secret police and encouraging illegal aliens to evade arrest have incited violence against law enforcement," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
"In addition to these vehicle attacks, our officers are also facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats as they risk their lives to arrest murderers, pedophiles, rapists, gang members, and terrorists."
DHS cited related attacks on federal officers during enforcement operations that received little media attention.
In June 2025, Border Patrol vehicles were rammed and damaged during operations in Bell and Maywood, California, with one driver arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault after a federal vehicle was totaled.
In July 2025, DHS said two criminal illegal aliens attempted to ram ICE officers during an enforcement operation in Colorado Springs, Colorado, prompting an officer to fire shots at the vehicle before the suspects fled.
In August 2025, CBP officers were injured during a vehicle stop in San Bernardino, California, when a suspect allegedly drove toward officers, striking two of them before fleeing. DHS said a criminal warrant was later secured, and the suspect was arrested.
In September 2025, DHS reported that an ICE officer discharged his weapon after being dragged by a vehicle driven by an illegal alien, saying the officer acted to protect his life.
DHS said Secretary Kristi Noem has made clear that immigration enforcement will continue without interruption, with ICE and federal partners carrying out the law, and that anyone who assaults a law enforcement officer will be prosecuted to the fullest extent.
President Donald Trump signed a spending bill on Tuesday, ending the four-day partial government shutdown sparked by Democrat opposition to funding for the DHS.
The legislation went to the president after it was passed by a narrow margin in the Republican-controlled House.
Twenty-one Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the funding package, and an equal number of Republicans opposed it rather than meet Democrats' demands to alter the operations of DHS.
Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.